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Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

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Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#91

Post by watwut »

mft_ wrote: post #43
watwut wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Words means things. If I ask you for something again and again, you then provides it for me as a gift for christmas, using the word "forcing" is massively inappropriate. It is not just a question of perspective. It is quite literally a question of what word means.

While I agree with your overall point, it's also worth asking where the desire for a new belonging comes from. There may be more obvious stimuli like established hobbies, or peer pressure, but ultimately a lot of the desire for a new belonging is likely driven by marketing from the companies selling it.

Kids always wanted to have what other kids have, you do not need special marketing for that. It is just how human psychology works. Likewise, kids always wanted what they seen adults to have (phones).

And kids who have seen marketing to find nintendo or tv fun. If they seen it in their friends house, they found it fun.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#92

Post by watwut »

toenail wrote: post #31
watwut wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Words means things. If I ask you for something again and again, you then provides it for me as a gift for christmas, using the word "forcing" is massively inappropriate. It is not just a question of perspective. It is quite literally a question of what word means.

And being a parent means you are responsible for somebody. Yeah, maybe you don't "force" them, you just create offers they can't refuse.

Sure. But it has nothing to do with ridiculous argument that "kids are forced them into perpetual stimulation". No they are not forced. They want it and they are either allowed it or not.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#93

Post by pjc50 »

kstenerud wrote: post #86
082349872349872 wrote: post #13

> All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. —BP

It's unfortunate that he spoke in terms of absolutes with this quote. Yes, there are a number of problems that can be solved by sitting quietly, but there are many more problems that cannot. - A fire - An angry girlfriend - Racism - A border dispute - Monopolies - Corruption - War

This is such an Internet response. Perhaps a bigger problem than not being able to sit alone is not being able to cope with a single sentence that doesn't cover every contingency in the universe.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#94

Post by martindbp »

skrebbel wrote: post #71
user3939382 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could argue by providing those things you’re forcing them into perpetual stimulation. It’s a matter of perspective. The difference is that like sugar, unless we’re using our rationality to override the impulse, we’ll always pick stimulation though that’s not necessarily healthy.

I’m a geek. My kids are geeks. To not provide them access to a computer because there’s bad addictive things on computers is like not teaching kids to read because there’s harmful books. In reality, things are never so black and white. When I tell my kids “no youtube, no gaming, but you’re allowed to use Scratch” there’s a risk they’re just browse scratch’s endless catalog of games made by others, plenty of which are…

> My theory is that every person in this thread who thinks this is simple doesn’t have children.

As always. "Why don't you just..."

Minecraft has been great for my 6 year old, learning fluent English etc, but I have to be very active in enforcing rules, especially around Minecraft YouTubers (only British, they tend to build advanced machinery and explain well).

But anything can turn into an addiction. Recently he wanted to do Duolingo to learn intermediate English, but now I get the sense he does it to get "allowed" screen time and doesn't actually learn much.

It's very nuanced. I want to provide screen time because we're nerds and you need to spend time with technology to learn about it, but there are way more distractions than when I was a kid, and our home computer didn't even have internet.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#95

Post by hakuseki »

teekert wrote: post #89

Screw getting bored and “fixing” it with a screen. I’ve been seeing a new trend: Parents with kids on the backs of their bikes (something everyone does here, but now) with the kids glued to a screen… So, instead of learning (without getting bored at all!) about the reality that they are one day going to have to navigate by themselves, they watch some cartoon, blaring annoying audio to people around them in the proces…

In what sense is looking at a screen a failure to prepare for the world that adults navigate? Adults also look at screens.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#96

Post by watwut »

teekert wrote: post #89

Screw getting bored and “fixing” it with a screen. I’ve been seeing a new trend: Parents with kids on the backs of their bikes (something everyone does here, but now) with the kids glued to a screen… So, instead of learning (without getting bored at all!) about the reality that they are one day going to have to navigate by themselves, they watch some cartoon, blaring annoying audio to people around them in the proces…

700th bike trip to preschool or school is not teaching kids all that much.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#97

Post by mihaaly »

lordofgibbons wrote: post #70
szundi wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without phones and connectivity

Anecdotally, I just took a long vacation in a country without much cell connectivity, and had a great time. It was very eye opening. But ever since coming back, I've been extremely unmotivated to work. I'm not sure if this counts as work burnout, but I'm sure the vacation had an impact.

You seen the mental paradise and yearn back? ; )

Jokes aside, computers (all kinds, handheld incuded) cause as many problems as they solve. They are a trouble relocation device. I feel demotivated working on and for computers.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#98

Post by watwut »

ricketyricky wrote: post #57
xkbarkar wrote: post #47

I feel the destructive behaviour of bored kids is forgotten a bit. Growing up in the late 70s early 80s we were kicked out of the house until dinner. We did a lot of really dangerous things exploring. Among these, -Playing in storm drains. Inside the narrow tunnels I might add. -Abandoned construction sites. -Railway tracks. Putting things o the rails waiting for the train to see what happened. Everything from rocks…

Ehem - sounds like a normal childhood? Compare that to the sheltered, all-wishes-granted and no minute spent w/o distractions like social media, kids. Started with Gen Z who get all angsty, with panic attacks, when they have to start performing, i.e., during final exams and the like. And never learned to deal with emotions and free-floating thoughts, handling themself, keeping calm. (all observed from multiple cowork…

Quite a few of these are what you want others to be sheltered from. Like, rocks thrown on passing cars from the bridge.

Youth criminality, alcoholism rates, teenage pregnancies are down and that is a good thing.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#99

Post by inthebin »

ricketyricky wrote: post #57
xkbarkar wrote: post #47

I feel the destructive behaviour of bored kids is forgotten a bit. Growing up in the late 70s early 80s we were kicked out of the house until dinner. We did a lot of really dangerous things exploring. Among these, -Playing in storm drains. Inside the narrow tunnels I might add. -Abandoned construction sites. -Railway tracks. Putting things o the rails waiting for the train to see what happened. Everything from rocks…

Ehem - sounds like a normal childhood? Compare that to the sheltered, all-wishes-granted and no minute spent w/o distractions like social media, kids. Started with Gen Z who get all angsty, with panic attacks, when they have to start performing, i.e., during final exams and the like. And never learned to deal with emotions and free-floating thoughts, handling themself, keeping calm. (all observed from multiple cowork…

I think the problem you're describing is not due to distractions and social media. I think the fault there is that school has changed, kids aren't taught to be allowed to make mistakes. If you're not taught that failure is part of learning, then you're just teaching kids to build anxiety because they are not allowed to fail.

Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)

#100

Post by Ekaros »

kstenerud wrote: post #86
082349872349872 wrote: post #13

> All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. —BP

It's unfortunate that he spoke in terms of absolutes with this quote. Yes, there are a number of problems that can be solved by sitting quietly, but there are many more problems that cannot. - A fire - An angry girlfriend - Racism - A border dispute - Monopolies - Corruption - War

Of the list isn't all but first one caused by inability to sit quietly in a room?

And even for fires good amount of fires is caused by that...

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